JEDDAH, 18 April 2007 — Juffali Automotive Company (JAC), exclusive dealer of Mercedes-Benz cars in Saudi Arabia, marked the launch of the fourth generation C-Class Series at its specially built showroom at Tahlia Street yesterday. The showroom is described as the first of its kind for the series in the history of Mercedes-Benz.
JAC unveiled the remake of the “best-selling” model series, which sets a new benchmark with its vigorously elegant styling, state-of-the-art safety technology and versatile product concept.
The new car combines comfort and agility, the hallmark of the new C-Class. “With the new C-Class, we are yet again raising the bar in this important segment of the market — and that’s true right across the board, especially in terms of safety, comfort and agility,” Safi Kobeissi, general manager of JAC, said.
More than two million units of the C-Class were sold since its launch in 2000, he said, adding that the fourth C-Class generation embodies a new driving culture in the compact premium car segment. “We thus offer the most versatile and majestic C-Class of all time — and, for the first time, in two attractive outfits,” he added.
Chris Vallance, Dubai-based regional sales manager, Mercedes Car Group, said 68,000 orders from around the globe had been received for the debuting cars, 160 of them from Saudi Arabia. Their prices are two percent more than their previous models, he said.
The new C-Class is the first Mercedes saloon to feature equipment lines with different faces. In the more traditional “Elegance and Classic” models, the star remains on the engine bonnet, while, in the avant-garde versions, the trademark is positioned in the center of the radiator grille. Customers can choose from a range of state-of-the-art four- and six-cylinder petrol engines.
The new C-Class saloon will come in three petrol-engine versions (C200, C280 and C350).
The development engineers at Mercedes-Benz have focused above all on improving the popular four-cylinder engines, “the outstanding qualities of which now include lower fuel consumption, higher power output and superbly smooth operation,” Farouk Sughayyar, national sales manager at JAC, said.